The fall season has brought many wonderful things to Southdown Plantation & Museum: great music, an exciting 5K run and broadcasted Saints game, the Channel 4 WWL News Crew, and a very busy Southdown Marketplace Arts & Crafts Festival.

VOICE OF THE WETLANDS FESTIVAL - OCTOBER 7-9, 2011
As always, Voice of the Wetlands was three days of jam-packed musical performances, Cajun food, arts and crafts, and most importantly - coastal erosion awareness. Visitors from all across the country traveled to the festival and learned about the importance of the wetlands.
 
Photo above courtesy of the Houma Courier

      

SAINTS SUNDAY & 5K - OCTOBER 16, 2011
We revamped this already fun event to include a band & a 5K run as part of our Challenge Grant initiative. The band Sheauxdown rocked the pavilion! They got our feet tapping and our group pumped for the Saints game. We had 90 walkers and runners for our 5K race, which helped us raise a lot of money for our Challenge Grant! The Bayou Runners Association was a big help in getting our race off the ground and we really appreciate their help and participation. Here are a few pictures from the race and our winners:
      

WWL CHANNEL 4 BROADCAST - NOVEMBER 4, 2011
WWL Channel 4 Morning News did their morning broadcast from Southdown Plantation on November 4th. The two hour show highlighted various aspects of Terrebonne Parish, including restaurants, swamp tours, and of course - Southdown Plantation!

Here our caretaker Ross gives Sally Ann Roberts a tour of Southdown in a pre-taped segment:


The news crew just minutes before going on air:


The Channel 4 News Crew with Southdown Director Katie LeCompte:

We received so many wonderful comments about the broadcast. Laura, Sally Ann, Eric and the entire news crew was great to work with and graciously signed autographs for the crowd that gathered during the show. It was a great way to showcase how unique Terrebonne Parish truly is to our neighboring cities. Thank you, Channel 4!

SOUTHDOWN MARKETPLACE ARTS & CRAFTS FESTIVAL - NOVEMBER 5, 2011
The day after the broadcast was one of our favorite days around here -- Southdown Marketplace! Our 300 vendors proudly showcased their handmade arts and crafts for almost 7800 visitors! It was a great day and was the most successful fundraiser EVER. We appreciate everyone who came to shop, eat, take a tour, and played in the kids area. Southdown Marketplace is the only reason that Southdown Plantation can stay open year-round so we appreciate each and every one of you!

 

   

Along with these events, we have also complete a few more repairs to Southdown, including completing the first series of shutters (second and final ones to be completed in the next few months), replaced our Gilbert and St. Martin sign in the Art & Literature room, and we put in a more efficient drainage system to draw moisture away from the museum.

As far as the Challenge Grant, we are well on our way to raising the $10,000 needed by May 2012 in order to recieve the $5000 donation for an endowment fund, which will help with repairs for generations to come. The endowment would be a positive step in making sure that the museum can thrive for many, many years. So far, we have raised $7731 through Saints Sunday, a $2000 donation from Dr. Allen Ellender, and a $50 donation from William Bisland. Our next event A Taste of a Cajun Christmas with special guest Susan Spicer will take place Tuesday, Dec. 6. We are expected to raise the remainder of the money needed at this event. We are well on our way to meeting our goal!